Swiss Tea posted this at the Cohort, and being the lover of mountains, waterways, ships and three-wheeled vehicles, I couldn’t resist sharing it. The Rialto replaced the original Reliant Robin in 1981, and was built until 1998, as both a sedan and an Estate, which this clearly is. And this one seems to still be on the job, or do folks drive these on vacations for the pure fun of it?
Once popular with UK motorcyclists as it could be driven on a bike licence.Many years since I saw one,there was always the horror story of one being rolled taking a turn too fast and the one that was driven over an inspection pit..
To drive a three-wheeler on a motorcycle licence ( and pay motorcycle tax) it had to weigh less than 8 cwt ( 896 pounds) and have reverse gear blanked off. This wasn’t a problem with the smaller Bond, as its two stroke motor could be run backwards, giving three or four gears in reverse. With the Reliant parking might have been an issue.
A neighbour had a Bond 3 wheeler,it always amused us to see him kick start the Villiers 2 stroke engine.I think later ones had an electric start but still kept a kick starter in case the electric start played up.Bond made a very nice 4 wheel coupe with a 6 cylinder Triumph engine
So where were the clowns going?
Golfing?
A good walk spoiled according to Winston Churchill.Golf makes cricket look exciting
Perfect description.
I only wonder why the ferry’s ramp is not on the front side.
Like most such ferries in the Highlands and Islands it has two ramps. Look again & you can clearly see both
I see them Splateagle, but what I mean is this, like in the picture below: both ramps in the “straight ahead” direction. I’m in the heart of the Dutch river delta, so I’m surrounded by dozens of similar ferries.
Apologies Johannes, I misunderstood.
I’m not entirely certain but I think the offset ramps are to enable crossings at low tide in relatively shallow water. Why MV The Corran (pictured) has one offset and one inline I don’t know. The backup ferry on the route (MV Maid of Glencoul) has offset ramps bow and stern, but she is a smaller ferry and was built for the (now replaced with a bridge) Kylesku crossing.
My guess is that when The Corran was built it was felt that either Ardgour or Nether Lochaber’s slipway didn’t need the “side saddle” approach.
Ultimately I suspect the ramp design has something to do with the area’s craggy and constrained geography… after all you couldn’t find a much more different terrain than the Dutch river delta! Does anyone know if short-hop ferries in the Nordics use this layout?
No need to apologise. It just struck me, kind of hard to drive on and off this ferry when you’re behind the wheel of a semi for example…..
Odd, I never saw offset ramps on a ferry before.
Yikes. Now I’m picturing meeting a “semi” on the B8007! Memories of dodging fish lorries on the way to Kinlochbervie…
I’m not sure how much (if any) heavy traffic would use this ferry: Morvern, Moidart and the Ardnamurchan peninsula are all accessible without using the ferry at all: the road links up about 35miles north and west on the “mainland” side at Lochailort. The Corran ferry is just a quicker (and arguably more atmospheric) way to get there.
Sometimes semis and ferries are not getting along too well….
(Photo: Marco van den Broek)
….but farm tractors do…
(Photo: Wim Kusee)
Brilliant!
my favourite car ferry image still has to be this one of the old “flit boat” I saw hanging in the post office on Fetlar (eastern most of the Shetland islands). Can’t find a decent sized scan of it online sadly, the best I can get is below.
Hehehe….look at them boys with their homemade ferry !
I regularly see artics (or semis) using the Corran ferry.
They get on and off without even needing a shunt, even with cars beside them on the boat.
Still a few people using these as daily drivers in UK – why not vacation? Some people do epic rides on Honda Cubs. In the 1980s our family of four went off on our holidays in a Fiat 126, later replaced by a Renault 5 as our family car. Perfectly adequate 🙂
The guy parked next to me after coming off the ferry, he didn’t appear to have luggage or anything, may even have been a local.
The clowns were in my vehicle, heading to Loch Ness, as clowns do.
I dont recall ever seeing a Reliant 3 wheeler in the metal/fibreglass, theres bound to be one in NZ but where I have no idea.
I always wondered what Rowan Atkinson’s fixation with these was all about.
No idea whose car it is, but being fiberglass-bodied, it’s a good choice for a ferry or dockworker. I wouldn’t want to leave any other British car that close to water all day!
The story about the Reliant being driven over/into an inspection pit may or may not be true, but I can vouch for the following. One winter our village was snowed in until a local plant hire contractor got out one of his machines and cleared the way, leaving two substantial ruts in the snow. I was the second car out after him (in a 1980 Granada); the first was a Reliant Regal van (the 1960s model as in Only Fools & Horses). The driver’s problem was that there was no rut for the front wheel – it took about a mile till he worked out that the best way was to get the front wheel on full right lock in the left hand rut and go the next six miles more or less sideways….
Children,
just say NO!
I saw an Allegro driver sneering at a Reliant!